Paul Smith / Spring 2013 RTW

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Countless British designers have walked the storied halls of Central Saint Martins in London. The famous art and design school recently up and moved from Soho to King’s Cross, an area better known for its railway yards than forward-thinking fashion. Sir Paul Smith has collaborated with students of the school in the past, and his decision to show in the award-winning space was an endorsement of the impressive new digs—a former granary store first built in 1852 and recently re-envisioned by Stanton Williams—and the innovative work that goes on here. The light-filled space was a great setting for Smith’s colorful spring collection, and a vibrant combination of seafoam, mustard yellow, and flame reds on blouses and button-downs reflected the optimism you would expect to find in a creative ideas factory like this.

As a designer who cut his teeth on Savile Row, Smith is a master of tailoring, and there was no shortage of modern renditions of the classic suit here. Light woolen blazers came paneled with silk, and the legs of flat-fronted trousers were assembled from three boldly hued stripes. The color-blocking and floral-print collage on voluminous shirtdresses were reminiscent of graphic lines running through the structure overhead. One mixed-media top that was part pinstripe, part summer knit made for a quirky lightweight update on the sweater dressing showing up on this street this fall. Indeed his new collection will offer plenty of options for students who plan to graduate with a mood-brightening working wardrobe next spring. But it would have been nice to have seen more of the unexpected British witticisms that first made him top of his class on the agenda.